Storm Hawks: The Story Not Told In Books
by Rickudemus
Summary: Finn is acting out of his character and his team mates are very confused about it. Wanting some time alone, Finn heads into a forest, only to be lost. Found by Stork, he sits down and listens to what the blonde has to say. Mild Stork x Finn


The Story Not Told in Books

Written 03.10.2008

by Ricku

It was a calm day, which was quite of a miracle for the Storm Hawks. Usually, when the day seemed like it was going to be peaceful and joyful, the Cyclonians attacked, but not today.

The crew of six Sky Knights had landed on a quiet forest, that had amazingly tall trees, so that it would cover the crew's ship, Condor. The six Sky Knights were happy to finally have a day off from world saving, though leaving the captain of the Storm Hawks little worried.

"I really like it that we're finally having a break, but… I'm really worried. What if something happens while we're here enjoying ourselves?" Aerrow, who was sitting on a small rock, said with a lot of concern on his voice. A small laugh came out from a dark female, who had set a table outside the Condor, in order to analyse some unknown crystals they had found few days ago.

"Relax, Aerrow. If anything comes up, Starling will inform us." A small grin appeared on her lips as she was getting closer to revealing the secrets of the crystals.

"Yeah, it's fun to have a break once in a while and eat all you can!" The crew's biggest and soft minded person, Junko said with a big smile. He stuffed some weird looking fruits in his mouth, eating with full desire. A small grunt could be heard next to Condor.

"Yuck…" A green Merb muttered, while looking away in disgust. Junko looked over to the pale looking pilot and grinned widely.

"Hey Stork, want some?" This made the Merb shiver and shake his hand as a sign 'no thank you´. The blue, dog like creature, Radarr, sniffed Junko's food and hissed, running quickly over to Aerrow.

Junko looked over to his leader, smiling. "Aerrow?" The red-haired teenager shook his head with an awkward smile.

"No, it's okay. You just eat yourself now." Junko nodded to this and kept eating his disturbing looking food.

That dark female, Piper, laughed and kept analysing the crystals, only to notice the strange silence around them. She looked over her shoulder, noticing the marksman of the ship, the energetic blonde sitting next to a tree and… Reading a book…? Piper started at the scene for a very long time in shock, making the Aerrow raised his eyebrows at her.

"Hey Piper, what's wrong?" The female pointed at the book reading blonde, Finn, who was making no noise at all. At this point, everyone was looking the silent one in terror.

Finn noticed the sudden silence and looked at everyone else. "What are you guys staring at?" None of them could say a word for a moment, until Piper decided to break the deep silence.

"Finn, are… Are you reading a book…?" The blonde blinked and looked the item in his hand and grinned one of his usual smiles.

"Yeah! It's a very good one too! What about it?" Obviously, Finn had not realized that the situation was very awkward for the others. They had always thought the blonde to be the one, who didn't think, make plans or strategies and have any kind of knowledge except when it came to shooting and definitely: the one who did not read books.

Piper looked Finn in worry. "Are you really alright, Finn…?" The question made Aerrow stand up and walk over to the tree, to see if it really was a book the boy was reading.

"Wow… You really are reading a book." Even Junko had stopped eating.

"Maybe it's a book about food!" And of course Stork couldn't hold his breath about this case either.

"Finn and knowledge… Why am I hearing doom falling upon us?" Of course Radarr was making comments of his own, but nobody knew what he was saying.

Finn felt offended. Of course he knew himself that reading books was not his Style, but it was just a book. What was the big idea? "Dude… It's just a book; a bunch of papers with text on 'em. Why are you making such a big number about it?" Everyone was looking at him like he was crazy.

Junko stuffed another weird looking fruit in his mouth, swallowing it whole. "But Finn, you never read books. You're never even quiet!" Junko's comment really irritated Finn now. Of course he was quiet sometimes too! ... Though Finn had to admit he was pretty... loud, from time to time. But still, it hurts to hear it directly from someone else.

"Guys, stop that! Even I get tired sometimes. I'm just not in a mood doing anything today." It even scared Finn to say that, but it was still true. Even he had days where he just wanted to relax and enjoy the silence. Everyone just slowly nodded their heads and decided to keep doing whatever they were doing and leave the annoyed Finn alone.

Piper was now smiling with excitement as she kept analysing the crystal in her hand, having the overeating Wallop wonder over to her. "Hey, you find out anything yet?" Junko was grinning and shaking with impatience. He really liked it, when Piper discovered a new crystal, but for what reason, he didn't even know himself.

"Not yet, but I think I almost have." Piper placed the crystal on the table, Junko watching across the table.

"Hey piper, why did you start analysing crystals?" The question made Piper and Aerrow look at their big mechanic in question.

"Why, you ask?" The dark female blinked and thought about it for a small moment. "Well, I've always liked discovering something new and use that knowledge to help people. And these crystals are just so full of mystery that I just have to find out everything about them!" Piper put her hand together and looked at the sky in amazement, but flinched after realizing what she was doing. She coughed in her fist, blushing. "Sorry… I tend to get carried away when talking about such a thing…"

Aerrow and Junko laughed softly, but not mockingly. Aerrow, who had walked over to the small rock, was now walking over to Piper with a smile. "It's okay, Piper. We understand you completely." Piper looked at Aerrow and then at, the very happy looking, Junko.

"Yeah! I became a mechanic, because I like to collect things and use them to build something good, so I can help my best friends!" He raised his arms, like he was just about to give everyone a hug, making Piper giggle.

"Aww, Junko…" The red-haired leader put his hand on Piper's back, giving her a soft smile. Piper smiled at him, tilting her head then in question. "What about you, Aerrow? Why did you become a Sky Knight?" The question was very easy.

"Because I love justice and helping people out, if they need it." Piper and Junko smiled widely, agreeing to his words.

The three now looked at the Merb, who was still denying to leave anywhere from his precious ship. Aerrow watched him as he was shaking and looking around in fright, expecting some kind of monster to appear again. "Hey, what about you, Stork?"

The question made the green alien's head turn to their directly quickly, creating a twisted looking grin on his lips. "Me? I'm just here as long as I find something better to do…" Stork's answer made everyone laugh quietly, having Radarr jump on the table and tell his version of becoming a Sky Knight. Not understanding his words completely, everyone decided, that Radarr just liked adventuring.

"What about you, Finn?" Piper looked over to the three, where Finn sat. Well, at least where he was sitting just a while ago. "Finn?" Piper asked confusion in her voice, making the others look around with her. "Where's Finn?"

The forest was amazingly huge. And the trees were so close to each other that it was hard to move forward even when you were walking. Finn could just imagine what it would be like to go in the forest with Skimmers. Yeah, it was impossible...

But going in the forest without any plans, map or a navigator, would be a suicide, which Finn was pretty much doing. The conversation between his friends just brought up some unwanted memories of his childhood and why he decided to become a sharpshooter. He didn't like to remember it and even now tried his best to forget. But if he was going to keep walking deeper in the forest, he didn't have to worry about remembering anything anymore.

Finn sighed. He saw a long log lying around and went over it. He sat down next to the log and wrapped his arms around his leg, burying his face into his knees. He was lost and he probably couldn't get out of there, unless a miracle happened. But even he knew that luck wasn't much on his side.

Finn raised his head, leaning against the log. He watched the little bit of the sky that was showing over the tall trees. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt incredibly useless. Sure his shooting skills were the best, but... That was it. He wasn't good at anything else, except at pissing everyone else off. Somehow everything he did lead to very unhappy results. He just wished he could do something else besides shooting and play his awesome guitar. That's why he was reading a book. He thought he could study a little and use his knowledge to help his friends, but Finn didn't really like studying in general, which means that he couldn't remember a thing what was written on the book. He even admitted to himself, that he kind of sucked sometimes. Even though it kind of hurt to...

He buried his face in his knees again, sitting in complete silence. He drifted in his thoughts, not hearing anything around him. Not even the small and quiet steps that were approaching him from behind.

"Finn, you asshole!" The yell made Finn jump up and turn around in shock, only to see his pissed off friend, Stork. Finn looked at his angry face in silence, gulping.

"S-Stork... What are… You doing here?" The question made the green Merb growl in anger. He walked over to the foolish blonde and grabbed his shoulders tightly.

"What am I doing here? What am I doing here? Searching for you, you stupid bastard!" Stork released his runaway friend and started walking around the somewhat confused blonde. "We told you it was a big forest, we told you not to go on your own to this forest and we told you, it would be impossible to get out on your own, did we not?" Stork was really angry, which actually surprised Finn. Usually when Stork was having his usual break down, it was about Condor, his beloved.

"Come on, Stork, I was just taking a walk-"

Stork snapped. "Just a walk? Do you have any idea what could happen on your stupid little walk? There are monsters in here that kill anyone that comes in their way! They come at night and in a big group!" Stork was standing now behind Finn, looking around in fright.

Finn looked at the sky, which clearly showed that it was still middle of the day. "Stork… It's not night yet..."

The Merb looked at his friend, his eye twitching. "No, but it will be, if we don't get out of here soon. And who knows, they might even attack during day time!" The Merb was walking around in circles again, panicking.

Finn sighed and rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should quiet down then, if you don't want them to attack!"

The paranoid Merb wasn't listening at all, since he was too busy watching for possible enemies in the forest. Finn shook his head, sitting down next to the log again, making the Merb snap. Again. "Hey, don't you dare to sit down there now! We're going to go back now and leave this forest of Doom!" Finn looked angrily at Stork and hid his face in his knees once again.

"You can go. I'll stay here." He said quietly, making Stork twitch his eye again.

"Uh-huh. And how did you plan to get back, without a map?" The blonde was quiet as a mouse, making Stork little worried. "Finn?" The silence was very awkward and rather strange, especially when the silent one was the hyperactive Finn.

Stork usually didn't listen to other's problems, but he guessed he could make an exception in this case. He sat next to Finn, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Tell me, what has gotten in you? I'm supposed to be to angsty one, not you."

Finn looked up to Stork, who looked strangely concerned about the blonde. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, wondering whether he should tell the paranoid pilot about his past or not. "You... Really want to hear...?

Stork grinned painfully and nodded. "Otherwise, we'll never get out of this place." Finn smiled to his friend's comment and stared at the ground.

"Okay... I guess I'll tell you..."

It was a bright and warm day in a small village in the desert that always had something happening in it. The villagers were happy, even if they were quite poor and didn't have much food, but they still knew how to enjoy life. Especially a small, eight year old rascal called Finn the troublemaker.

"You little brat, come back here and I'll teach you a lesson!" A masculine man yelled from the bottom of his lungs.

"Never!" Little Finn yelled, running away with a wide grin on his lips. He had just thrown some blue paint on the man's head and it had made the man very angry. After all, it was like the twentieth time he had done it. But annoying people made Finn kind of happy, but for what reason, no-one knew. He was running along the path, until the man had lost all his stamina and was now panting far away from Finn.

"Yeah, take that! You'll never catch me, hahaha!" He laughed, running backwards, only to bump into someone, falling down to his butt. He looked up, breathing a quiet 'uh-oh'.

The person, who looked almost excately like the boy, shook his head with a laugh. "Finn, you little rascal." He grabbed the boy from the back collar of his shirt, raising him up in the air and walking over to the man in blue paint.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Fritz. This boy is just too much to handle sometimes." He glared at Finn, who was squirming a lot. "Now apologize to Mr. Fritz, Finn!" Finn pouted.

"I'm sorry..." The person dropped him on the ground, nodding proudly.

"Good boy, Finn." He then looked at the quite angry Mr. Blue Paint. "So, we cool now?"

Fritz growled, making both Finn and the person run away laughing. "You two!" Fritz yelled, thinking of going after the two, but was too tired for it. After all, he was quite a... Big person.

After a long time of running, the two laughing humans stopped, breathing heavily. "Finn, I must say as your friend that Mr. Fritz looked very funny in that paint, but as your father, I must say that you have to stop picking on people."

Finn rubbed the back of his head, grinning in guilt. "I'm sorry dad..." The father of the young boy chuckled and ruffled his hair gently.

"It's okay. I never really liked that man anyways." The both laughed, only to be interrupted by a female voice.

"Finn! Jazz! Dinner time!" Both boys ran towards their home, finally getting something to eat.

"Hey Finn!" Jazz smirked down to his son, who looked up to see his father. "After we eat, why don't we go practice some shooting?" Jazz grinned, receiving an excited yelp from the young boy.

"Yeah!" Finn liked shooting, but not as in hurting people. He just loved to see the bright beams of light fly across the air. His father was an amazing shooter and he really admired him for that. He would use his skills to hunt down animals, so that they would get something to eat and of course: to protect their village from evil. Finn just wished he could be just like his father.

After their quite big meal, Finn ran outside of his home. He stretched his arms, breathing in the smell of desert. He smiled widely as he watched around the village in joy. The villagers looked always so happy that it made Finn feel warm inside. He also thought that nothing could ruin the perfect day. Oh, how wrong was he.

A sudden beam of light flew from the sky, landing on the middle of the village, destroying a house or two. People were running in terror, trying their best to find a safe place to hide. A few dark skimmers flew above the village, making Finn shiver. Jazz and Finn's mother, Fiona, ran outside, both gasping in surprise. "Cyclonians!" Jazz yelled in deep anger, trying then to get his family to safety.

"Fiona! Finn! You see those mountains over there?" Fiona and Finn looked over to the mountains that were pretty close to the village. Both nodded in confusion, looking then back at Jazz. "Now, I want you to run to the mountains and get a shelter." Jazz watched them with a really serious look on his face, making Finn shiver.

"But dad, what about you?" Jazz kneeled in front of his son, smiling gently. "Son, what is it that you want to be when you grow up?" Jazz's question made Finn blink, but he answered it truthfully. "A Sky Knight and the best marksman in the world!" He nearly yelled, seriousness written all over him.

Jazz narrowed his eyes slightly, ruffling gently his son's hair. "That's why you have to go now, Finn. I want you to live. I want you to fulfil your dream and live your life to the fullest. So please... Go now, Finn." Jazz grinned as he stood up and ran towards the Cyclonians, leaving his family behind.

"Dad!" Finn yelled, trying to go after him, only to be stopped by his mother.

"Finn, we have to go!"

A lot of people were running towards the mountain, trying their best to save their lives. Jazz, who was still in the village, tried his best to lead the people to the mountains, while the Cyclonians kept shooting the villagers' precious homes. Jazz growled, getting his energy crossbow, shooting two of the enemies down. He smirked evilly, getting ready to shoot more, until one of the Cyclonians shot his weapon out of his hands. Jazz gasped, looking over his shoulder to see his weapon fly high in the air and finally landing to the hard sand, breaking in few pieces. Jazz bit his teeth together, deciding to run over to the mountains too. He ran away from the enemy, who were shooting at him like crazy. The blonde marksman was running as fast as he could, but it still wasn't enough. The enemy caught him, surrounding him completely. Jazz admitted that this time... He really was defeated.

"Dad!" He could hear a little voice come over from the mountains. He raised his gaze see his son struggling in his wife's grip, trying his best to save his father. Jazz smiled sadly. "Dad! Please! Don't die! You have to teach me how to shoot!" Jazz sighed and looked up to his enemy. They didn't care for the shouting boy or the villagers. They all just wanted to get rid of Jazz, the best marksman ever. Well, at least Jazz thought he was. Jazz looked up to the sky and spread his arms like a bird spread its wings.

He smiled widely, starting to yell loud enough for his son to hear him. "Son! Become a Sky Knight! Become a sharpshooter! Be your father's son and live for your dream!" He looked at his son, the Cyclonians ready to shoot the man with their guns. "Protect the innocent and create justice, son!" Finn's eyes were filled with tears as he still tried to run to his father. "I'm proud of you… Finn." He dropped his gaze to the ground, closing his eyes with a small smile.

And all Finn could see, was a big, bright explosion.

Stork was staring at his blond friend with wide eyes, surprised to hear of Finn's past. Though, he was more surprised that it was actually so dark, since Finn was always so joyful and energetic. He hardly swallowed the shock in his throat and kept listening to the story. "After my father's death, I started training shooting every day, trying my best to become the best." Finn closed his eyes, raising his head and leaning against the log. "I just wish... I could have done something to save his life..." Finn opened his eyes slightly, leaving them narrowly open.

An awkward silence reigned among the two, neither knowing what to say. But Stork decided to say something to... Cheer his friend up, which sounded impossible, even to him. "But... At least you're alive like your father wanted...?"

Finn fully opened his eyes and looked at Stork, giving him a small smile. "Yeah... True..." Stork wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders, pulling the blonde close to himself.

"And you... Belong t oa group with a Sky Knight..." Finn nodded as an agreement. "And you are a sharpshooter... Pretty good one at that, too..." Finn blinked, looking away from the Merb, blushing slightly.

"Stork…" Finn said with a quiet voice, which Stork didn't hear.

"So, your father is probably very proud of you, you know..." Stork looked around calmly, petting Finn's shoulder.

Finn nodded again, little uncomfortable. "I see, but..." Stork looked at the blonde, noticing his flushed face.

"What is it?" Finn scratched his own temple, biting his lip.

"Just what are you doing...?" The Merb blinked at Finn's comment, completely confused.

"Cheering... You up...?" Finn looked at his green friend with an annoyed look in his face.

"No! I mean... Are you cuddling me...?" Stork raised his eyebrow, giving the blonde an annoying look, too.

"Even I need a hug sometimes..." Finn looked away, but didn't try to escape from the gentle hug of a Merb. To him, getting a hug from another male wasn't such a big idea. The only awkward thing was that the hug was received from the most pessimistic member of the crew.

Another deep silence wondered among them for some time, when Stork decided to open his mouth again. "Hey, Finn." The blonde looked at Stork, who looked rather sad.

"What? You okay?" Stork stared at Finn, then dropped his gaze at the ground.

"I miss my ship..." The Merb's sad voice made Finn blink. He then started to laugh and stood up and helped his green friend to get up afterwards.

"Okay, let's go back then. It might get dark soon." After saying that, Stork started shaking violently.

"Monsters!" He yelped and started quickly walking to a direction that probably led to the others and the Condor. Finn smiled, walking right after him.

"Oh, and Stork..." He said softly, making Stork look over his shoulder. "Thanks... You really helped me a lot. Just don't... Tell the others..." Finn smiled sadly, getting a paranoid grin from the pessimistic pilot. He looked forward, shaking again.

"No problem."

The two walked for a long time and finally got back to their resting place. Aerrow, who was standing next to Piper's research table, noticed the two and quickly went over to them.

"Stork! You found Finn!" He quickly hugged Finn and looked at the blond, smiling.

"Good thing you're okay! We were really worried about, Finn!" The leader's comment made Finn blink in surprise.

"Really...?" Aerrow petted his shoulders with a cheerful laugh.

"Of course! You're one of the Storm Hawks after all!" Finn felt happy inside and grinned his usual goofy grins.

Piper, Junko and Radarr came out of Condor, noticing their missing friend, running over to him. "Finn!" Piper and Junko yelled happily, having Junko hug the life out of the blonde.

"Ah, Finn! We missed you! It has been so quiet without you here!" Aerrow and piper looked at the two worried.

"Uh, Junko... I don't think he can breathe..." Piper said quietly, making Junko release his grip.

"Oops... Sorry, pal!" The Wallop laughed and Finn, who was lying on the ground, grinned weakly.

"Yeah... It's okay... Ehehe..." Stork gave them another one of his paranoid smiles and helped Finn to get back on his feet. Finn smiled to his friends, embarrassment showing in his face. "I'm sorry guys; I didn't mean to worry you..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I won't do that again, though. Promise."

Aerrow grinned, giving the blonde a smack in the back. "It's alright, Finn." They all smiled happily and then Junko decided to bring up an old topic.

"Oh yeah, Finn! We were talking about our reasons for becoming Sky Knights and stuff! But we still don't know what's you reason! Can you tell us?" He smiled childishly at Finn, waiting for an answer, as did Aerrow, Piper and even Radarr.

Only Stork didn't like the question. "Maybe you shouldn't ask him..."

To Stork's surprise, Finn just grinned widely and said: "Because I am my father's son." With that, he started walking towards Condor happily. Everyone looked after him in total confusion, not having any idea what was the answer all about. They all walked towards the Condor, still wondering Finn's weird behaviour. But Stork, who was the only one who knew about Finn's behaviour, smiled softly in secret.

The End


End file.
